Starting your business in the United States of America, a step-by-step approach.

If your business is growing, the U.S. market may become a key market for you. You’d like to take it on; we’re here to guide you along the way.

Starting one’s business in the United States is not an easy task. To improve markedly the success of those operations, the professionals at Aimlon CPA P.C. recommend you think your business idea through. You should factor the time and energy needed as well as the regulatory and practical aspects.

We suggest a step-by-step approach to improve your chances to succeed.

Your market research

Doing market research may prove valuable to confirm whether you’re on the right track and improve your business idea.

You should gather demographic information to better understand your target customers. The demographic information could include data on age, gender, profession, residency, family, income class or any other demographic data relevant to your business.

Once you determined your target market, you may answer the following questions to get a better understanding of the market:

• The demand for your product or service: is there interest for your product or service?
• Your market size: how many people would be interested in your product or service?
• The macro-economic environment: what the income range, the inflation rate and the unemployment rate currently are?
• Your business location: where do your target customers live and where can your business reach?
• Your market saturation: how many products or services similar to yours are already available to consumers?
• Your pricing: what do would-be customers pay for these substitute products or services?

There are several cost-effective ways to test your product or service on the U.S. market before starting your own distribution business in the U.S.:

• If you’re a service provider, you may contract with local independent sales representatives to solicit sales on your behalf.
• If you’re selling products, you may use local retailers to distribute them on a consignment sale basis.

Your business plan

The business plan is an important tool for setting up your business in the United States of America. You should write a business plan to guide you through each stage of your business life cycle: how to structure, run and grow your new business.

How Aimlon CPA P.C. may help: The team at Aimlon CPA P.C. can help with writing and updating your business plan. They can also provide sample best practices to preserve and improve your company’s financial health and performance result.

Once you confirm that there is a market for your product or service or you’ve signed on one or two clients, you may determine your business structure and the related legal, business and tax implications.

step 2: determine your business structure

You have two options: doing business without forming or incorporating a company in the U.S. or forming or incorporating a company in the U.S. Your activity and your business goals determine the choice of entity.

Aimlon CPA tax professionals can help you find the business structure that works best for your particular circumstances.

Doing business in the U.S. without forming or incorporating a company

If you’re already providing these services or selling these products in your country of origin, you’re not required to form a company or to incorporate a company in the U.S. to do that same business. You may contract with independent sales agents to solicit sales in the United States of America or contract with a service company that provides services. They may represent you or your company.

• If they’re representing you, then you’re considered as personally doing business in the United States of America.
• If they’re representing your company, then your company is considered as doing business in the United States of America.

In both cases, it is as if you had a branch in the United States of America.

You may also get distributed on the U.S. market without forming or incorporating a company. In that case, you may adopt one or several of the distribution strategies outlined in the Industries page of Aimlon CPA P.C.’s website.

This option offers simplicity and gives you full control over how to operate your activity in the United States of America. However, it offers limited legal protection, and liability protection:

• If your non-U.S. company is the one doing business in the United of States of America, then its assets may be used to pay the creditors of the U.S. activity.
• If you’re the one who is doing business personally in the United of States of America, then your assets may be used to pay the creditors of the U.S. activity.

Conversely, you or your non-U.S. company cannot go before any U.S. courts to file a claim against a customer.

Doing business in the U.S. by forming or incorporating a company

This is a more traditional way of doing business and it offers legal protection. However, it comes with a hefty formation, incorporation, and maintenance cost. Determining the best legal organizational structure for your business is important. It is important because the structure that you choose will affect your organization’s operating efficiency, the transferability of the company, its control, how you report income, the taxes you pay and your personal liability.

You may choose one of the four basic company structure types:

• Sole proprietorship: this is the simplest legal structure for any business. Legally, there is no separation between you, the entrepreneur, and the company. Your legal name is the same as the business’ legal name.However, you may establish a business name separate from your own legal name by creating a “Doing Business As” (DBA) name. You cannot have outside investors and you’re personally liable for the business’ debts.You may freely transfer your business’ assets and liabilities. The business’ revenue and expenses are reported on you, the entrepreneur and owner’s tax return. You must pay self-employment taxes and make quarterly estimated tax payments.
• General partnership (GP): Like a sole proprietorship, a GP is not a legal entity separate from its owners. The only difference between the two forms of entity is that a sole proprietor has only one owner whereas a GP must have at least two owners. All the owners of a GP have unlimited liability.
• Limited liability partnership (LLP): As an owner of an LLP, your liability is limited to your investment.The general partners of the LLP handle the business management and control.
• Incorporated (Inc.): A corporation is a separate legal entity from its owners. Your liability is generally limited to your investment in the business.The corporation may file and pay its own taxes (C Corporation), or the shareholders report the corporation’s profit or loss on their tax return (S Corporation).
• Limited liability company (LLC): an LLC is a hybrid type of legal structure that provides the limited liability features of a corporation and the tax efficiencies and operational flexibility of a partnership.You may choose to form your LLC in any state. However, if you form an LLC in a state and would like to do business in another state, you must register in that other state.You most likely need to transfer funds from your country of origin to finance your new business in the United States. We’d like you to know that there are generally no limits on the amount that you may wire from your foreign bank account to your U.S. bank account.If you registered a trademark in your country of origin, you should consider registering it in the United States of America for the registration to be effective.

If you’re considering hiring, you should know that the U.S. job market is a fluid and effective market. The labor relations for instance are less regulated in the United States than in the European Union. The employer payroll taxes are lower compared to other European countries.

How Aimlon CPA P.C. may help: Aimlon CPA P.C.’s team of professionals can support you at all stages of your business endeavor in the United States of America.

If you’ve been doing business in France and would like to do the same business in the United States, Aimlon CPA P.C. can work with your French advisers to get you started.

If you’re looking for a CPA who can handle your French tax and accounting and your U.S. tax and accounting, Aimlon CPA P.C. can support you as well.

The choice of entity can be complicated, and errors can be costly. Aimlon CPA can help you make well informed choices. We can also explain how business structure affects your organization’s bottom line. If you’d like, you can have us file the necessary paperwork to start your business.

step 3: consider the practical aspects of starting your business in the United States

It is important to take care of the day-to-day problems that arise in your journey to start a new business in the United States. Partnering with professionals on whom you can rely will help improve your operations:

• A certified public accountant (CPA). We recommend you first speak to a certified public accountant (CPA). The designation is important in the United States of America. Your CPA will help you determine whether it is necessary for you to form or incorporate a company in the United States. If a company formation or incorporation is required, he or she will help you find the business structure that works best for you. The team at Aimlon CPA P.C. can serve as a resource.
• An Attorney. We recommend you use the service of an attorney to assist with legal matters. You should budget between $1,500 and $5,000 to form or incorporate your company in the United States.Most attorneys will recommend you form or incorporate your company in Delaware because it is business friendly. However, we would like you to know that Delaware is not a tax haven. You won’t pay more or less tax because you’re registered or incorporated in Delaware.Also, you or your staff may need a visa to legally stay and work in the United States. If you’re a foreign entrepreneur, different types of visas are available for eligible entrepreneurs. You should work with an immigration attorney to assist with any visa application process.
• Professional organizations: you should consider a membership with professional organizations such as chambers of commerce. This gives you the opportunity to network with other professionals and to be current on news and trends in your industry.